Officer Bob

NEW YORK CITY - When you’re a cop, you deal all day with the mistakes of people who can’t deal with stress. Instead of counting to ten, or drinking to excess, or just taking home the rage to share with the family, sometimes regular people pop under the everyday stress. It happens.

That’s why I’m a cop. I don’t have the limitations of regular people. I get to handle road rage in a very satisfying manner. For example, if someone cuts me off in traffic, I don’t honk the horn and get all wife-beaty. Instead, I can pull out my piece, shoot the guy who cut me off, then drive away and leave him to die.

“But Bob,” I hear you say, “won’t that result in criminal charges for you? Isn’t that against the, you know, law?” Technically, yes, but as you probably noticed in the above link, New York grand juries know how to treat their police officers - with a pat on the back and a “on your way, sir, to protect and serve.”

A grand jury voted Thursday not to file criminal charges against an off-duty New York City police officer who shot and killed a Manhattan man in October during what was considered an alleged fit of road rage, CBS 2 has learned.

District Attorney Robert Morgenthau announced that Officer Sean Sawyer will only face an administrative review and sanctions by the NYPD in the shooting death of 25-year-old Jayson Tirado.

Tirado was killed in the early morning hours of Oct. 21, 2007 when Sawyer, by his own admission, shot at Tirado’s car at 117th Street and First Avenue after Tirado had apparently cut him off while trying to avoid an accident.

Angry words were later exchanged between Sawyer and Tirado and a chase ensued. Sawyer later pulled out his licensed off-duty firearm and shot twice at Tirado after Tirado apparently made a gesture as if he had a gun.

Tirado was struck by a bullet near his right shoulderblade and later died from his wounds.

Sawyer left the scene and did not learn of Tirado’s death until the next day. Leaving the scene of a shooting is not a violation of the New York State Penal Law, but may be a violation of the New York City Police Department’s Patrol Guide.

“I’m sure that most people would be shocked to learn that it is not a crime for a police officer to leave the scene of a shooting without reporting it as soon as practicable,” Morgenthau said in a statement.

“I share their outrage. But, that is the law. As a result of this case, we will be submitting legislation to change that,” he said.